


A Tale of Two First Dates

by orphan_account



Category: Fairly Legal
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Justin and Kate'e first date, Pre-Series, Why can't these two kids just work it out?, past & present
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "He paused, every instinct in him screaming to say no, to tell her he was married, that he couldn't go out with her. But he glanced at the empty finger on his left hand and realized that wasn't true anymore." After the divorce, Justin goes on a date...
Relationships: Justin Patrick/Kate Reed





	A Tale of Two First Dates

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the process of importing works from my ff.net profile. This one was originally published in 2011, but I'm adding here now. Enjoy!

Justin was at the coffee cart outside the DA's building when he accidentally ran into a woman, knocking her coffee onto the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "Let me buy you another," he offered, reaching for his wallet.

"You could buy me dinner instead, and we'll call it even," she counter offered with a smile.

He paused, every instinct in him screaming to say no, to tell her he was married, that he couldn't go out with her. But he glanced at the empty finger on his left hand and realized that wasn't true anymore. So, he took a look at the woman whose coffee he spilled. She was attractive, with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She was tall, too, and had legs that seemed to go on forever. She was exactly what most guys would call their type. He, however, had a hard time shaking the image of a petite woman with dark brown curls and eyes to match.

He shook his head and smiled at the woman in front of him. "That sounds fair," he said, offering a hand. "Justin Patrick," he introduced himself.

She took his hand. "Anne," she said. "Anne Bennett."

He smiled. "I hate to ruin your coffee and run," he started, "but I've got to get back to work," he explained, gesturing towards the building behind them. "But here's my card," he added getting one out of his wallet and handing it to her. "It was nice to meet you," he finished, and turned to go back to work.

"You, too," she called after him, tucking his card into her purse.

As he made his way back to his desk, he couldn't help but remember his first meeting with a different woman.

_Justin was walking through the marble lobby, on his way back to his office when a tiny woman barreled into him, knocking about forty case files to the ground. She was obviously distracted and not paying attention to where she was going, something Justin would later learn was common for her._

_He was bent down to pick up the files, so he couldn't see her smile, but he could hear the laugh in her voice when she spoke. "I'm so sorry," she offered, but couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice._

" _You think this is funny?" he asked, standing up._

" _Well…" she started slowly, "Yeah."_

_He opened his mouth to respond, but when he finally saw her, his retort died in his throat. She smiled slightly at his blank stare and then coughed. That seemed to bring him back to the present._

" _You were in a hurry," he stated, gesturing towards the case files that littered the floor._

" _Aren't I always," was her response._

"You must be a lawyer," he offered.

_"What gave me away?" she asked. "Was it the running like a crazy person in the DA's office? Or the legal looking file?" she asked, waving the folder that she managed to hold on to during their collision._

" _It's easy if you know what to look for," he said with a smile._

_"Well then you must be a lawyer, too," she said._

_He nodded. "In the DA's office."_

" _So you're an ADA," she said, looking at him. "None of the one's I've ever worked with looked like you," she said with a raise of her eyebrows._

_"And how's that?" he questioned._

" _You know," she said, gesturing towards him. "Goofy," she finished with a teasing smile._

" _Cute," he responded dryly. Then he added, "Where do you work that you're dealing with ADAs, anyway?"_

" _Reed & Reed," she answered, before starting to move away. "Sorry," she said, "I've gotta run. The judge hates it when I'm late," she explained, and then she was moving away._

_"I'm Justin," he called after her._

_"Kate," she said over her shoulder, and then she was moving again. He watched as she ran through the lobby, surprisingly fast considering the heels she was wearing, and narrowly avoided sending someone else tumbling to the floor, before she disappeared from his line of sight._

_He shook his head and smiled as he finished picking up the case files and headed back to his office. He'd never met anyone quite like her._

Justin was shaken out of his memory by the ringing of his office phone. "Justin Patrick's office," he answered, and for the rest of the day, both Anne and Kate were the last things on his mind.

However, that evening, on his way out the door, his cell phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket, half expecting to see Kate's name on the caller ID, but surprised when he didn't recognize the number.

"Justin Patrick," he answered.

"Hi, Justin. It's Anne… from the coffee cart," came the reply.

"Oh, hey, Anne," he said.

"I'm just calling to ask if you still wanted to grab dinner some time?" she questioned, sounding slightly nervous.

He paused for a second, trying to shake the feeling that he was cheating on Kate, and then answered. "Yeah, that sounds great. Are you free Friday?" he asked.

"I am, actually," she answered.

"Okay… Do you know the café on 9th street?" he asked, and when she said she did, he added, "Great. I'll meet you there at seven."

"Sounds good," she said, and they both hung up.

On his way home, Justin couldn't help but think of his first phone conversation with Kate.

_A few days had passed since his run in with Kate the lawyer, but Justin couldn't seem to get his mind off of her. He barely knew her, and yet she was all he could think about. Finally, he gave in and had his secretary look up the number for Reed & Reed's offices._

_He thanked her profusely once she found it, and hoped that this was the Reed & Reed his Kate had been talking about. He crossed his fingers and dialed._

" _Reed & Reed, how may I help you?" came the standard greeting._

" _Hello, can I speak to Kate please?" he asked._

" _One moment," the person on the other end said, and the call was transferred._

" _Kate Reed's office," a male voice answered._

" _Hello, can I speak to Kate please?" he repeated to the new person._

" _Who's this?"_

" _Justin Patrick, from the DA's office," he answered._

" _Hold on," he said and Justin heard shuffling and muffled voices._

" _Kate," the man on the other end of the phone said._

" _What Leonardo?" came the reply, and Justin smiled. He had found the right Kate. Even muffled, he recognized her voice._

" _Phone," the man he assumed was Leonardo answered._

_He heard a loud sigh, and then, "Oh god, who is it?"_

" _Someone named Justin Patrick, from the DA's office," Leonardo answered._

" _Really?" she asked, sounding excited. "Put him through, put him through."_

" _You seem excited. Who's this Justin?" he teased._

_Justin heard a muffled, "Shut up, Leo," and then the phone was picked up. "Kate Reed."_

" _Hey, it's Justin," he answered._

" _Justin?" she repeated._

_He sighed. "The guy you nearly knocked over in your rush to see the judge on Tuesday."_

_She laughed. "I know, I was just kidding. So why are you calling? Need some legal advice?"_

_He laughed. "No, no legal advice. I just had a question about your schedule," he answered._

" _Oh?" she questioned. "What kind of question?"_

" _The kind that asks if you're free on Saturday night?" he asked slowly._

" _Are you asking me out, Justin?" she teased._

" _I am," he said. "So are you busy?"_

" _Let me just check my schedule," she said and after a slight pause, "I am in fact free on Saturday night," she answered._

" _Great," he said, and wondered if she could actually hear his smile through the phone because it was that big. "What's your address?" he asked, "I'll pick you up at seven."_

" _I could just meet you there, you know," she offered._

_"Yes, but that would ruin the surprise," he explained._

" _It's a surprise?" she asked._

" _Yupp. So where am I picking you up?"_

" _Just come to Reed & Reed," she said. "I'll probably be here anyway."_

" _Sounds good," he said. "I'll see you Saturday."_

" _Wait," she said quickly. "You're not even going to give me a hint about where we're going?" she asked._

" _Nope," he said with a laugh._

" _Justin," she said with a slight whine in her voice._

" _Dress comfortably," he said, and then he hung up before she could try to weasel their location out of him. He had a feeling she'd know exactly how to get him to cave. He hung up the phone and turned back to the files covering his desk, thinking the whole time that Saturday couldn't get here soon enough._

That Friday afternoon, Kate ended up a Justin's office for help on a mediation. Seeing her in person didn't help his guilt over the date he was going on that evening. Once he had helped her with her mediation, she was on her way out of his office when she stopped.

"Hey, Justin?" she asked. He turned his attention back to her. "Do you want to grab dinner tonight or something?" she questioned softly.

He paused for a moment, wanting to laugh at the irony of the situation. The first time in weeks that Kate offered to put work on hold and do something with him, he had a date. "I can't," he finally answered.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Got a hot date?" she teased with a smile. When he didn't answer and she caught sight of the deer in headlights expression on his face, her smile faded, and she stormed out of his office, slamming the door on the way out. He groaned, running a hand over his face, and got up to chase after her.

"Kate," he called, leaning over the balcony and watching her hurry down the marble steps.

She turned back to look up at him. "Don't," she yelled, but she sounded close to tears and Justin groaned internally.

He decided to not let it affect him, and yelled back. "I'm sorry, Kate. But what do you want from me? We're divorced," he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "For all of two weeks," she spat at him, paused on the steps, still managing to keep her tears at bay.

"And we filed six months ago," he responded. "And our marriage was over long before that," he added, referring to the period of time before they separated, when they were barely even speaking on the phone, let alone spending any time together.

"Fine," she yelled up at him. "I'll just leave you alone from now on," she said, turning to continue her exit. "Enjoy your date," she added sarcastically, before hurrying out of the building and away from him.

Justin sighed loudly and started to stalk back to his office. "Don't," he said sharply when one of the secretaries opened her mouth to comment on yet another infamous Kate and Justin screaming match. Once he reached his office, he slammed the door and sat at his desk, putting his head in his hands. He contemplated calling Anne and canceling their date for tonight. The sight of Kate on the verge of tears had increased his feelings of guilt exponentially, but he tried to keep them at bay. Kate was the one who had pushed for the divorce, so he shouldn't feel guilty for having a date. If she had expected him to divorce her and never date again, she had another thing coming. Legally, he was no longer bound to her. However, as much as he tried to convince himself that was true, and that he shouldn't feel guilty, it didn't make him feel any better.

He left work early and headed home to shower and get ready for his date, reminding himself the whole time that he was not cheating on Kate. They were divorced.

He put on one of his better suits, grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out to meet Anne. When he arrived at the restaurant, she was already there. She was dressed in the stereotypical little black dress. It was strapless, and fell just above her knees. Her hair was down in loose waves, and a small amount of make-up made her blue eyes pop. He appreciated that she looked good, she was an attractive woman after all, but her appearance didn't get his heart racing the way a different woman's casual attire had all those years ago.

_Justin arrived at Reed & Reed ten minutes earlier than he had told Kate he would meet her. He had followed his own advice and was wearing a pair of jeans, a pale blue button down shirt, and his leather jacket._

_He rode the elevators up to Kate's office, nervously smoothing down his hair. He had strayed from his standard dinner for the first date, and he hoped he had made the right call and she enjoyed the surprise he had planned. Once he reached the floor where her office was located, he stepped out of the elevator. There was no one at the front desk since it was Saturday, and the offices were technically closed._

_She must have heard the ding of the elevator doors because her head poked out of one of the offices when he stepped into the building._

" _Hey," she called, before her head disappeared back into the office. "I'll be out in a minute," she called from inside. He nodded, even though she couldn't see him, and took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart. He wiped his hands on his jeans, wondering why he was so nervous. He had been on plenty of dates before, but all of sudden he felt like a teenager again. For some reason, he had a feeling this date was going to be different._

_She emerged from the office five minutes later, putting on a shoe as she hopped towards him. "Hi," she said a little breathlessly, and he wondered if she was as nervous as he was or if she was out of breath from rushing to finish getting ready._

" _Hey," he said with a smile, taking in her appearance. She'd followed his advice, and dressed comfortably and casual. He was surprised to see that her definition of casual matched his. Most of the women he'd been out with would have defined casual as a skirt instead of a dress, and three-inch heels instead of four. Kate, however, was dressed in jeans and a v-neck deep blue sweater. Even in jeans, he couldn't help but think she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. When she got closer to him, he noticed that she had opted against the heels he had last seen her in, and was wearing black flats, which made him realize just how much shorter than him she was. For some reason, her tininess made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect her. He made a mental note not to mention that to her, because he had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate it._

_She smiled back at him. "So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked._

" _And ruin the surprise?" he asked incredulously. "Not a chance," he said._

" _Please," she said softly with an adorable pout and he felt his resolve crumbling._

" _You've made it this long, you can wait another twenty minutes," he said with a laugh._

_She huffed but nodded in agreement, to his surprise. He was glad, however, because he knew that if she had kept up that pout he would have caved and ruined the surprise. He hoped she never realized that she could probably convince him to do anything with that face. "Let's go," he finally said, reaching for hand, feeling tingles shoot up his arm when their fingers clasped together and they headed towards the elevator._

Justin was pulled back to the present by Anne's voice. "How are you?" she asked, shaking him out of his memory.

"I'm good," he said with a smile. "You look great, by the way," he added, trying to keep his attention focused on the woman in front of him, and not on the past.

"Thanks," she said with a shy smile. They were interrupted by the maître d' telling them their table was ready. Justin put a hand on the small of Anne's back, but didn't get the tingles he had come to associate with Kate's touch. He shook his head briefly, trying to clear his head of thoughts of Kate. He was doing no good comparing this first date with his and Kate's. They were divorced. She didn't want to be married to him anymore. He ignored a tiny voice that asked if that was true, considering how upset she'd been this afternoon when she learned about his date, and tried to focus on said date.

They reached their table and Justin held her chair out for her. They made small talk while they waited for the waiter to arrive. Once he did, Justin ordered a bottle of wine and the conversation lulled for a while as they studied the menu. The waiter returned and they ordered.

"I'll have the Chicken Parmesan," Justin ordered, and handed his menu to the waiter.

Anne glanced at the menu once more and handed it to the waiter as well. "I'll have the spinach salad with grilled salmon," she placed her order as well. The waiter nodded and left, and Justin couldn't help the smile that spread over his face when he pictured Kate rolling her eyes at Anne's choice of salad.

"I'll be right back," Anne said, excusing herself to the ladies room. Justin nodded, but once her physical presence was gone, he had no distraction to focus on, and he found himself dragged back into memories of Kate.

" _A street fair?" Kate questioned with a smile when they arrived at their destination._

_Justin smiled back nervously. "This is okay, right?" he questioned, hoping she didn't think his choice of venue was stupid._

" _No," she said with a laugh, "This is great. Not what I expected, but great."_

" _So you're surprised?" he questioned, happy that she seemed to be enjoying herself, and that he had managed to keep their destination a secret, despite her attempts to get him to tell her._

" _Definitely," she said with a smile. "Ooh, look," she pointed with childlike enthusiasm, and he couldn't help but smile. "A Ferris Wheel!"_

_He laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders, feeling his heart soar when she moved closer into his embrace. He steered them towards the Ferris wheel she had pointed out, perfectly happy to do whatever would make her happy._

Anne returned from her trip to the bathroom and he was happy to have a distraction to keep him from reminiscing about a woman who he had about zero chance with anymore. She was his ex-wife for God's sake.

He started a conversation about Anne's job, trying desperately to stay focused. He managed to not space out as she told him some of the crazier stories from the classroom full of eighth graders she taught. He listened to the stories, laughing at the appropriate times, but his heart just wasn't in it.

After a particularly amusing story involving two teenage boys, a frog, and someone's lunchbox, she stopped. "Wow, I've been talking about me non-stop. What do you do?" she questioned, and he was happy to have the opportunity to talk. He couldn't tell her about his job and think about Kate at the same time so he dove into the opportunity. The food arrived, and while they ate he told her about his job in the DA's office, and a few of the cases he'd worked. He purposely left out any of the ones involving Kate, not willing to bring her back to his thoughts.

After he exhausted the topic of work, she asked how his food was. He told her it was good, and received the same response when he repeated the question, but he couldn't help but have a craving for fair food.

" _Are you hungry?" Justin asked Kate after they had ridden the Ferris wheel twice and taken a look at a few of the vendors lining the streets._

" _Starving," she admitted, and Justin smiled heading towards a food booth._

" _Let's go," he said, and she raised an eyebrow. "You'll see," he answered before she could ask where they were headed. They arrived at their destination and Kate smiled._

" _Funnel cake," she said. "A man after my own heart." He laughed and took the powdered sugar-covered treat from the vendor, handing over the money and heading towards a bench._

" _Well, it's funnel cake," he said. "How can you go wrong? It's like the best food on the planet," he added._

" _Agreed," she said, reaching to break off a piece. He smiled when a bit of powdered sugar ended up on her nose. He leaned in to wipe it off and found himself frozen, his blue eyes locked with her chocolate. He knew that standard dating protocol was that the kiss happened at the end of the date, but the moment seemed too good to pass up, and he'd wanted to kiss her ever since she'd run into him in the lobby of his office. He leaned in, and so did she, and the next thing he knew he was kissing her. She tasted like funnel cake and powdered sugar and something he couldn't identify, and it was the best first kiss, no the best kiss period, he'd ever had. And even though he had just met her, and they barely knew each other, he found himself hoping that this would be his last first kiss._

_After a few moments he pulled away, and she smiled at him before reaching for another piece of the funnel cake._

" _Hey," he said quickly, realizing that he had yet to eat any of the funnel cake, and if he wasn't careful she would distract him and eat it all before he even got a bite._

" _You snooze, you lose," she said, popping another piece into her mouth. He couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked sitting there, hogging the funnel cake. He broke off an enormous piece of the cake, ignoring her cries of protest, and managed to fit it into his mouth. It was about as big as the three pieces she had eaten, so now they were even._

_She smiled at his antics, leaning in to brush off the powdered sugar that had fallen onto his jacket, and this time, she kissed him. He kissed back, his hand moving up to tangle in the curls he'd been dying to touch all week, and thought that this might be the happiest he'd ever been._

He felt a hand on his arm and his eyes shot up to meet not Kate's brown, but the blue eyes of his current date. Damn it, he'd been spaced out again.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, sounding concerned. "You seem distracted."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said trying to come up with a better excuse than he was thinking about his first date with his ex-wife, whom he obviously still had feelings for. Somehow he doubted that would go over too well. "It's just work," he finally said. "I have a tough case right now," he added.

Anne nodded. "Well it's the weekend," she said. "Work can wait until Monday," she added with a flirtatious smile.

"You're right," he said, smiling back, before striking up another conversation in hopes of keeping his mind occupied. He managed to stay in the moment for the rest of dinner, and pushed all thoughts of Kate to the back of his mind.

However, when the check arrived, and Anne offered to pay half of it, his memory dragged him back to thoughts of another independent woman.

_Justin threw his final dart, piercing the balloon he had been aiming for, meaning he won a prize._

" _Pick a prize for your girl," the game operator said with a smile._

_Justin turned towards Kate. "Lady's choice," he offered. She smiled and pointed to a fluffy brown bear with a blue bow around his neck._

" _Good choice," the older man said, reaching for the bear and handing it to Kate who turned and kissed Justin's cheek in thanks. He smiled in return, but before he could move away, Kate spoke._

" _Can I play a game?" she questioned._

" _Of course," Justin answered, handing the operator another five-dollar bill. This bought Kate seven darts, and Justin and the man behind the counter watched in amazement as every single dart hit its target. Justin had been three for seven._

_The game operator smiled. "Looks like we have a big winner," he said, and Kate smiled at Justin who groaned, knowing he was never going to live this down. "Anything from the top shelf, sweetheart," the man told Kate, gesturing towards a row of stuffed animals at least five times the size of the one he'd just won for her._

" _She's a keeper," the man whispered to Justin, leaning over the counter as Kate studied her choices._

_Justin smiled. "I'm starting to realize that," he admitted._

_The man turned his attention back to Kate. "So what'll it be?" he asked._

_Kate smiled and gestured towards Justin. "Lady's choice," she repeated with a laugh._

_Justin groaned and ignored the barking laughter of the man behind the counter. He shook his head but couldn't help but smile as he pointed. "I'll take the one that matches hers," he said. The man was still laughing as he fished down the giant brown bear with a blue bow that matched the smaller one Kate was currently holding._

" _Here you go," the man said, handing Justin the bear. "Don't let that one go," he added with a whisper._

_Justin turned towards Kate, whose eyes were twinkling as she watched him accept his prize. "I don't intend to," Justin whispered back, before turning away. He wrapped an arm around Kate's shoulders, the other one holding onto the comically large bear, as they continued their way through the fair._

"Don't worry," he said when Anne offered. "I've got it," he added and placed his credit card into the little book, waving the waiter down and handing him the bill.

"Well, thank you," Anne said with a smile.

"No problem," he answered. When the waiter returned, Justin signed the receipt and both he and Anne moved to get up. She suggested they walk for a while, and he agreed. They left the restaurant, and it was colder than it had been when they had entered, but he noticed that Anne had brought a coat.

She had obviously thought ahead, knowing that San Francisco nights got chilly. He knew he should be thankful, he was cold too and didn't want to have to give up his jacket. And yet, he found himself thinking about an absentminded mediator, who never remembered to think ahead.

" _Are you cold?" Justin asked when he noticed Kate give a slight shiver. Now that it was getting later, the temperature had dropped considerably._

" _A little," she admitted, and he immediately shrugged out of his jacket, draping around her shoulders. "I don't want to take your jacket," she objected but he shook his head._

" _It's fine," he said. "I'm not cold," he explained. "Besides," he added, "it looks better on you anyway." That, at least, was true. The jacket hung practically to her knees, and when she slipped her arms through the sleeves they were comically long. As he looked at her drowning in his jacket, he was reminded once again of how small she was, and he had the overwhelming urge to envelop her small frame in his much larger one. He settled for wrapping an arm around her shoulders, hoping to transfer some of his body heat to her. He would happily freeze if it meant he could watch her look that adorable in a jacket that was at least three sizes too large on her._

He and Anne walked along the street in silence for a few blocks, Justin lost in thoughts of Kate, and Anne getting a little tired of having to start all of their conversations. Justin had a feeling she wasn't enjoying herself that much, but he couldn't really bring himself to care.

He knew that was probably bad; he should really be worried about whether or not his date was having a good time. But he already knew he wasn't going to be asking for a second date, so what was the point? All this dinner had done was remind him that he hadn't been available for a long time. Ever since Kate had almost knocked him over, to be honest. They may have been divorced, and he may have been a free man, but if he was being truthful, his heart was still taken. It was Kate's, and he had a feeling it always would be.

"It's getting late," Anne's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I should probably get going."

Justin nodded, barely paying attention. "I'll walk you to your car," he offered, and they turned around, heading back to the restaurant's parking lot.

They got back, and he walked her to her car. She unlocked the door and turned towards him. "It was… fun," she offered, and kissed his cheek. He knew he should return the sentiment, be polite, but he couldn't bring himself to care enough to lie. She got into her car and closed the door. Justin waved as she drove away, and then sighed loudly. At least it was finally over.

He headed home, ready to sit in his apartment alone like a pathetic loser, and maybe watch his and Kate's wedding video. He knew it was a bad idea, and he really needed to work on getting over her, but he didn't care. If this date had taught him anything, it was that he obviously was nowhere near ready to move on. In his mind, he was still married.

He got home and headed upstairs, ready for this night to be over. He was surprised when he reached his door and found Kate sitting on the floor in front of it, obviously waiting for him to get home.

"Kate?" he questioned when he caught sight of her.

"Justin," she said, scrambling to get up off the floor.

"What do you want?" he asked, not in the mood to deal with her right now.

"I just wanted to… apologize," she said softly. "For screaming at you today. I overreacted," she admitted.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it," he said, sounding a little happier now that he knew she wasn't there to yell at him some more. "I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that."

"No," she said. "You're allowed to date, Justin. I'm the one who pushed for the divorce," she admitted sadly. "You can see who ever you want…"

"Thanks," he said, not bothering to tell her that he wasn't interested in seeing anyone but her. "Do you want to come in?" he asked, gesturing towards his apartment.

"Sure," she said, following him inside. "So, how was your… date?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her voice neutral and not betray the inner turmoil she felt at the thought of him out with someone else.

He sighed loudly. "Horrible," he admitted, and she couldn't help the smile that spread over her face at his words. "Thanks for your sympathy," he said in response to her obvious smile.

"Sorry," she said with a sheepish smile.

"It's okay," he said with his own smile. "It was actually worse than our worst date," he added with a laugh.

Kate shook her head. "Are you talking about that dinner we went to, back when we first started dating?" she questioned. When he nodded, she added, "It can't have been that bad!"

He nodded. "It was."

"That was the date where I spilled that bottle of wine, and ruined your suit," she remembered.

"My four-hundred-dollar suit," he interjected, and she rolled her eyes.

"You're still upset about that?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "And then you told that joke about Judge Nicastro's wife," he reminded her.

She laughed at that. "Leo insists to this day that's why he hates me so much."

Justin smiled. "Well I'm sure it didn't give you any extra points," he admitted.

"Wow," she said, remembering the date. "That was the night you punched that guy for me, wasn't it?" she questioned.

Justin nodded, and his eyes narrowed even now. "He was getting a little too handsy for my liking," he explained.

"I remember," she said. "I probably would've hit him if you didn't," she admitted with a smile.

"He deserved it," Justin said in response. "I can't believe you agreed to go out with me again after that," he admitted. "It was what, our second date?"

She laughed. "It was fun, despite all the craziness," she said. "Besides, our first date made up for anything that could've possibly went wrong that night."

"I kept thinking about our first date tonight," he told her softly. "I don't think my date was too happy with how often I was spaced out."

She let out a laugh at that. "I'm sure she wasn't," she said, and then "Funnel cake," she added softly.

He smiled. "Still the best food on the planet," he said.

"Agreed," she answered with a smile.

"I got some pretty good advice that night," he said with a smile.

"From who?" Kate questioned.

"The game operator at the dart booth," he said, and she smiled as she remembered the giant bear she had won for him.

"What'd he tell you?" she asked, wondering what advice he could have possibly given Justin.

"He told me to not let you go," Justin explained. "I guess I should have taken it more seriously," he added softly.

Kate shook her head. "You didn't let me go," she said. "I'm the one who let you go," she admitted. "Worst mistake of my life," she added so softly he almost didn't hear her. His eyebrows rose in surprise, and he felt his heart soar with hope, but he didn't say anything. They both fell silent after that, remembering a much simpler time. "Come on," Kate said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Where are we going?" Justin questioned.

"To get ice cream," she said, moving towards the door.

"Ice cream?" he repeated with a laugh. "Why?"

"Because I'm hungry, and your date was horrible, and ice cream makes everyone feel better," she explained.

He raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Okay," he agreed. "Ice cream it is." He got up from where he was sitting on the couch, and noticed that Kate didn't have a jacket with her. He shook his head and picked up his discarded jacket, knowing she was going to complain about being cold as soon as they were outside.

They left Justin's apartment, heading towards a small ice cream parlor within walking distance. After about two minutes, Kate shivered slightly and said, "It's cold."

Justin laughed slightly at how well he knew her, and draped his jacket over her shoulders. It was just as big on her as his leather jacket was all those years ago, and he couldn't help but smile at the overwhelming surge of affection he felt when he looked at her tiny frame covered in his giant jacket.

She gave him a questioning look. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, smiling even more when she moved closer to him. They walked a few more blocks until they arrived at the ice cream place, and Justin ordered them each a cone. They continued to walk slowly, enjoying their ice cream.

When they stopped and Justin noticed a tiny bit of ice cream on the tip of Kate's nose he couldn't help but smile. He leaned it to wipe it off with his finger, and the next thing he knew she was kissing him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, even though he knew this was probably a bad idea. It was certainly not going to help him get over her, but he realized he didn't want to get over her. He'd been in love with her since the first day he met her, and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

They broke apart and smiled at each other, neither one saying anything. Justin wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulders and they continued to walk in a comfortable silence. As she nestled closer into his side, he realized there was a good chance this would end badly, maybe even worse than the first time. But a small part of him hoped that maybe this could be a different kind of first date. The start of a new relationship. A first date for a less young, less naïve Kate and Justin. And he hoped that maybe this time, they would beat all the odds. That this first date would be the last first date. For both of them.


End file.
